The Lover Speaks were an English new wave duo consisting of David Freeman (vocals) and Joseph Hughes (arranger, composer). They wrote and sang the original version of the song "

No More "I Love You's" "No More 'I Love You's' is a song written by British musicians David Freeman and Joseph Hughes and originally recorded by them as the Lover Speaks. It was released in 1986 as the lead single from their self-titled debut album. The song was ...

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

in 1995 on her ''

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

'' album, which she took to No. 2 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

History

Freeman and Hughes formed The Lover Speaks in 1985, having previously worked together in the punk outfit The Flys. Deriving their name from the

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popul ...

' book '' A Lover's Discourse: Fragments'', the duo began writing material and also recruited keyboard player Barry Gilbert after advertising for a keyboardist. Although Gilbert was not an official member of the group, he would record and tour with the duo. Later in 1985, the band sent a demo tape to Dave Stewart of Eurythmics and soon signed with Stewart's Anxious Music Publishing. Meanwhile, Stewart had forwarded the demo tape to Chryssie Hynde, who sent it to producer

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records. In 2006, Iovine and rapper-producer Dr. Dre founded Beats Electronics, which prod ...

. Iovine was successful in getting the band a recording contract with

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

in early 1986. John Warwicker, the art director for A&M at the time, recalled in 2022 that the signing of the Lover Speaks was met with "great excitement" by A&M, who "thought they had discovered

the Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker), John Walker (born John Joseph Maus, but using the name Walker since his teens) and Gary L ...

of the 80s". In July 1986, the band released their debut single, "

", which peaked at No. 58 in the UK. In August, the band's self-titled debut album, '' The Lover Speaks'', was released. Produced by Iovine, and featuring contributions from Stewart,

June Miles-Kingston June Miles-Kingston is a British singer and drummer, best known for her work with various successful bands and singers in the 1980s. She was a founding member of the post-punk group The Mo-dettes, which lasted from 1979 to 1982, and later beca ...

and

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among others, the album was a commercial failure. In September, the album's second single, "Tremble Dancing", also failed to enter the charts. The third and final single, " Every Lover's Sign", was released in October, and in December peaked at No. 6 on the US ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart. Following the release of the album, the band opened for Eurythmics during their Revenge World Tour. In February 1987, the band released a cover of Dusty Springfield's " I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" as a non-album single. The song failed to chart. The duo, with their live band, had played the song on tour, and although Stewart advised against recording it, he produced the song with the duo. In the spring and summer of 1987, the band returned to the studio to record their second album, ''The Big Lie''. By this time Gilbert had left the band. Iovine, Stewart and

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willi ...

shared production, however upon completion A&M Records declined to release it. It was later unofficially released in 1997 as a limited promotional factory-pressed CD. "No More "I Love You's" was re-issued in March 1988, but failed to chart. In July that year, the band played at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed wh ...

in London, and also performed at the Reading Festival in August. The band were wound down by the end of 1988, although ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' reported in December 1989 that A&M Records, who were looking to restructure themselves for the new decade, were uncertain whether they would retain the Lover Speaks on their roster. In 1996, Freeman independently released six solo albums, the material of which was recorded between 1985 and 1996.

Collaborations

In late 1986, the band worked with

Alison Moyet Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard ( ; born 18 June 1961) is an English singer noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice. She came to prominence as half of the duo Yazoo (also known as Yaz), but has since mainly worked as a solo artist. He ...

during sessions for her second studio album. The UK No. 2 album '' Raindancing'' was released in 1987 and largely produced by Iovine. Moyet and band had worked on three songs together, although the Freeman/Hughes-penned "

Sleep Like Breathing "Sleep Like Breathing" is a song by British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet with David Freeman, which was released in 1987 as the fourth and final single from her second studio album ''Raindancing''. The song was written by Freeman and Joseph Hu ...

" was the only song to make the album. In September 1987, it was released as the fourth and final single from the album. A duet between Moyet and Freeman, the song reached No. 80 in the UK. The song "Take My Imagination to Bed", also written by the duo, was released as a B-Side on the 12" version of the UK Top 10 single " Weak in the Presence of Beauty" several months earlier. During the same period, the duo, along with Gilbert, also wrote the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily" for

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known for he ...

. It was released on her 1987 album '' Angel Eyes'', and released as a single in March 1987.

Discography

Albums

Notes *A ^ ''The Big Lie'' was shelved in 1987 but received a limited promotional CD release in 1997.

Singles

References

External links

* * Allmusic biography* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lover Speaks, The English new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1988 English musical duos Male musical duos New wave duos 1985 establishments in England A&M Records artists